Journalism (Politics) BA

This module equips students with the knowledge and skills to produce content for any platform and allows learners to seize opportunities as new platforms emerge. In this module, you'll learn to interview, research, report, write, shoot and edit audio and video; create graphics; and master social media

Journalism, Communication and Politics are intrinsically linked. This module examines key concepts and theories that includes Agenda-Setting, public opinion, journalism in liberal and illiberal societies, social media and its effects, celebrity journalism and the use and effect theory. It grounds students in the field and enables them to think critically about the media intersectionality.

This module grounds students in the fundamentals of news and feature writing. It examines the dynamics of the Inverted Pyramid structure for hard news and also explores the flexibilities and creativity that feature writing involves. Students will also be tasked to develop their writing competence as they get involved with the Hillingdon Herald

This module delves into the politics of race and multiculturalism in contemporary Britain by focusing on a number of concepts such as racism, islamophobia, integration, and national identity. Through examining key scholarly texts and debates, students will develop essential skills in critical reading and analysis.

This module introduce leaners to the development, production and post-production of multimedia productions, and enables students to identify and analyse key concepts that underpin multimedia productions and to develop their own practical work.

The Hillingdon Herald is at the centre of journalism education at Brunel. The newspaper is not only a community-focused publication, it also empowers students to practice what they learn in theory. As a module therefore, it enables students to conduct interviews, gather information, write and edit news and understanding newspaper production processes.

This module looks at how journalists report on issues about politics and the political world, including the use of data for researching stories of this kind. It will develop techniques for students in video, written, and photojournalism and layout and design, and using equipment and software to competently produce stories of a political-based nature across all platforms.

Examine the ways in which the globalisation of communication has transformed social, political, and economic relations. The following themes will be addressed in this module: the state, economy, power, globalisation, nationalism, identity, digitisation, culture and consumerism, media markets, public relations and politics, and political economy of communication.

This module will help you develop an insightful working knowledge and critical appreciation of law and regulation in the practice of professional journalism. You will learn how to craft news reports within appropriate legal and ethical frameworks and navigate the potential conflicts and pressures journalists can be subjected to in their working lives. 

This module provides an advanced understanding of research methodologies, with a particular focus on data analysis. Equipping students with an understanding and appreciation of the important theoretical paradigms that underpin qualitative and quantitative social and communications research traditions. Furnishing students with the tools and skills required to conduct and evaluate their own empirical social and communications research.

You will be tasked to source and develop a variety of local arts-based stories and then prepare them for publication on a variety of platforms.

This module aims to examine the tactics and strategies employed by African Americans during the period 1941 to 1992, thereby helping students to gain a critical understanding of the roles of various groups within African American society in the pursuit of civil rights. 

This module familiarises students with contemporary issues on the American political agenda and demonstrates how politicians adapt policy stances and organisational and electoral strategies to accommodate change in political debate. Students are encouraged to adopt a more interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach to learning about American politics by examining social, moral, cultural and economic issues through a partisan political perspective.

This module considers the shape of new media technologies such as iPhones – it explores how new developments in media technology have changed the basis of contemporary social life and culture. This module will examine some of the key transformations that are taking place through digital culture.

The dissertation aims to enable students to conduct independent research within their field. This will teach students to choose a feasible research project, locate it within relevant academic literature, and devise an appropriate analytical framework to construct arguments that can justify the research question has been answered. Individual supervision will support students in developing and executing the research project.

The practice project aims to extend students’ understanding of journalism practice and principles through the planning and execution of a mini-portfolio that aims to enable students to begin to develop specialisms. It enables students to apply editorial judgement in the selection of stories, the target audience, and the approach taken and the preferred medium, and to recognise and employ ethical and legal knowledge in researching and reporting.

The module aims to provide postgraduate students with a critical knowledge and understanding of how different disciplines have sought to make sense of political hoaxes, fake news or images and disinformation in as well as the contexts in which they flourish and are challenged. 

In this module students will discuss the development and functioning of the EU from its inception to the present day and be introduced to and learn to evaluate a range of theoretical perspectives on the EU’s creation, development and functioning. Students will examine a range of political problems in the European integration process, such as legitimacy, domestic and social impact, institutional and policy reform, enlargement, and future directions.

The module explores how media represent social justice and identity giving particular attention to race, ethnicity, poverty and social justice, and focusing on both theory and production. Over the course of the module, you will learn about theory and practice in relation to diversity, stereotypes and prejudice, and you will produce media content that highlights the importance of social justice.

How do governments make public policy? Why do public policies vary across countries? How can public policy be analysed? These are the questions that will be explored in this module. The module will provide the participants with a strong theoretical foundation for analysing public policy and skills to communicate the analyses to non-academic stakeholders in public policy.

This module will enable students to critically engage and analyse the historical and current impact of social media on social relations and contemporary culture. It will allow students to develop a critical understanding of social media in the context of broader changes in the media landscape, and how it impacts identity, power and everyday life.

This module seeks to familiarise students with the contemporary issues agenda in American politics. It seeks to demonstrate the ways in which politicians and institutions adapt policy stances and organisational strategies to accommodate changes in the nature, content and direction of political debate.